Call centre initiative gives staff recognisable qualifications

Six
thousand people could soon have formal call centre qualifications, following a
successful pilot scheme by the Learning and Skills Council.

The
LSC has invested £5m to enable up to 5,000 call centre employees to take part
in a work-based learning project offering transferable skills and
qualifications.

A
further 1,000 unemployed people who ultimately want to work in the industry
will also be taking part in the scheme which leads to nationally recognised
qualifications.

The
project was developed by the LSC to combat skills shortages and a trial scheme
involving HSBC led to 12 members of staff receiving NVQ certificates.

The
scheme trains staff in the workplace, and the unemployed candidates gain
valuable work experience while working towards an NVQ level 2, 3 or 4 –
depending on experience.

Rob
Wye, interim director of policy at the LSC, said: "Over one million people
are engaged in call centre work in England. This pilot allows us to design and
test new funding arrangements, to increase the number of non-traditional
learners participating in education and training. It enables the industry to
have a coherent training, development and assessment framework."